What a servo motor is in simple terms

A servo motor is a rotary actuator or motor that allows for a precise control in terms of angular
position, acceleration and velocity, capabilities that a regular motor does not have. It makes use
of a regular motor and pairs it with a sensor for position feedback. The controller is the most
sophisticated part of the servo motor, as it is specifically designed for the purpose. Servo motors
are not actually a specific class of motor but are a combination of specific parts, which happen to
include a DC or AC motor, and are suitable for use in a closed-loop control system. They are
used in robotics, automated manufacturing and computer numerical control (CNC) machining
applications. The servo motor is a closed-loop servomechanism that uses position feedback in
order to control its rotational speed and position. The control signal is the input, either analog or
digital, which represents the final position command for the shaft. A type of encoder serves as a
sensor, providing speed and position feedback. In most cases, only the position is reported. The
final position is reported to the controller and this is compared to the initial position input, and
then if there is a discrepancy, the motor is moved to get to the correct position. The simplest
servo motors use DC motors and position sensing through a potentiometer and use big-bang
control, which means that the motor moves at maximum speed until it stops at the designated
position or is stopped. This is not widely used in industrial motion control as it can be quite
inaccurate, but these kinds of servo motors are popular in radio-controlled devices such as model
aircraft and toy cars. Sophisticated servo motors for industrial use have both position and speed
sensing as well as implement proportional-integral-derivative control algorithms, allowing the
motor to be brought to its position quickly and precisely without overshooting, as the speed of
the shaft can also be controlled.